Scouting the Opponent: Baltimore Ravens (Week 7)

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Oct 20, 2017

For just the second time in franchise history, the Baltimore Ravens will be visiting the Twin Cities this weekend. The first visit was a heart-breaking loss for the Birds back in 2009 when Ravens kicker Steve Hauschka missed a 44-yard field goal to win the game. The Ravens team that’s visiting Minnesota this weekend is a whole lot different than they were when they played the Vikings 9 years ago. The Ravens aren’t a team that we hear very often in Minnesota because we very rarely play them. I could make a solid argument that the Baltimore Ravens are the most injury tainted team in the league this season. Now you might be reading this and rolling your eyes at me, but it’s the truth. Here’s a list of players they have placed on injured reserve this season:

  1. RG Marshal Yanda
  2. LG Alex Lewis
  3. G Nico Siragusa
  4. RB Danny Woodhead
  5. RB Kenneth Dixon
  6. TE Crockett Gilmore
  7. DE Brent Urban
  8. LB Albert McClennan
  9. CB Brandon Boykin
  10. CB Maurice Canady

I’ll also throw some gas on the fire and mention that they have 9 players who are questionable to play this week. In the NFL you should certainly never overlook an opponent, but on paper, this seems like a game the Vikings should win fairly easily if the team shows up to play.

Joe Flacco has 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions in his career against the Vikings.

Joe Flacco: The “Elite” quarterback

Ever since Joe Flacco secured his first Super Bowl victory the chatter of the league for a short time was whether or not Flacco should be classified in the same category as guys like Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, and Ben Roethlisberger which of whom are all “elite” quarterbacks. We can pick up that topic on another day, but what I can for surely tell you is that Joe Flacco is certainly NOT an elite quarterback against Mike Zimmer and his defenses. Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer is very familiar with Joe Flacco after playing him twice a year from his days as the defensive coordinator in Cincinnati. Here are Joe Flacco’s career stats against Zimmer-led defenses:

 

12 Touchdowns

15 Interceptions

177.8 Yards Per Game

71.9 QB Rating

Record: 7-5

Yes, Flacco has produced more wins than losses against Coach Zimmer, but that doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story. Just because Flacco has more wins than losses against Zimmer doesn’t mean he played well. Baltimore has had numerous lockdown defenses for years and I think that was extremely beneficial to Flacco’s success and maturity as a quarterback. According to ESPN, Joe Flacco is currently the worst QB in the league on play action play calls. His offensive line is dismantled and they haven’t necessarily been able to give him the time he needs to be successful so far this year. Flacco is much more effective when given time to plant his feet in the pocket and let it rip.

3 Keys to Victory

  1. Take care of the football. It’s no question. Taking care of the rock is a key factor to winning any football game. But the Vikings offense isn’t built to put up a lot of points or play from behind. This could end up being a trap game for the Vikings if they don’t take care of the football. Giving the ball away leads to a number of things. Loss of field position, gassing out your defense, and most importantly a momentum swing that could suck the life out of a home crowd. Case Keenum can’t try to do too much for the offense and Jerick McKinnon can’t afford to put the ball on the ground like he’s already done twice this season. Protect the ball, take points when you can, and play defense.
  2. Force Flacco out of the pocket. As I’ve already mentioned, Joe Flacco is currently the worst QB in the league on play-action play calls. He’s a pocket quarterback. Always has been and always will be. When pressured he has a tendency to take his eyes off of his receivers and reverts to escaping the pocket. Not keeping their eyes downfield is not typically something that “elite” quarterbacks do. Generating pressure and creating sacks is one thing, but if you can flush Flacco out of the pocket it forces him to make bad decisions and flaws his accuracy immensely when he can’t set his feet. I can’t wait to see what Coach Zimmer has drawn up for Flacco. I expect to see a lot of disguised blitz packages and twists along the defensive line.
  3. Make Baltimore’s offense one dimensional. If there’s been a bright spot in Baltimore’s offense this season it’s showed up in the running game. The Ravens are averaging 129 yards per game on the ground through 6 games this season and that’s good enough for 6th best in the league. On the other side of the ball, you have a Vikings defense that has been stout against opposing offenses in the running game this season, giving up just 78 yards per game, which is 3rd best in the NFL near the halfway point of the season. Linval Joseph has been a train wrecker in this fragment of the game. He’s the leader of the run defense and if he can have another big game on Sunday that should put Flacco and the Ravens in some 3rd and long situations where they are forced to throw. Something of which they don’t do very well. I should also mention the Vikings have the BEST 3rd down defense in the league at this point in time.

This week I interviewed Marc Rafferty who’s a contributor for a Ravens blog/podcast called “Go For It On Forth”. You can follow Marc on Twitter at —> @MarcRafferty1

1. What is the key for the Ravens on offense to ensure they score points against a good Vikings defense? We have a couple of things really, both pretty obvious but they both are a must if we are going to win the game. First is the offensive line. They have to continue to play the way they have been the last few games. Also, Joe Flacco has to be able to connect with his receivers. After a decent showing against the Raiders, we went back to playing like the players had never met or even seen a football before.  The talent is there, it’s just being able to bring that out.

2. Which player on the Vikings defense poses the biggest problem for the Ravens? Everson Griffen, Xavier Rhodes, Harrison Smith, or other? Admittedly I’ve not seen a great deal of the Vikings this year but looking at the stats it’s hard to pick a standout. I would think if Everson Griffen can continue his fine form in helping stop the run then it will go a long way in helping the Ravens become one dimensional and the Vikings win the game.

3. What do the Ravens need to do to get the passing game going against the Vikings? That’s the million dollar question! We need to get off to a strong start. If we go 3 and out it could be a very long day for us. I’d imagine it will begin with a few dump offs to Ben Watson then Flacco will test out the safeties with a couple of bombs down the field.  He’s going to have to be careful with Harrison Smith back there though.

4. Which matchup are you looking forward to seeing the most on Sunday? I’m excited to see Brandon Williams back. Seeing him matching up against the Vikings running backs could be an interesting day. We’ve badly missed Williams so hopefully, that’s one less thing to worry about come Sunday.

5. Final score prediction. Ravens-20 Vikings-17

Baltimore Ravens Offensive & Defensive Rankings

Total Offense: 30th                                                                       Total Defense: 16th

Passing: 31st (159.7 YPG)                                                                Pass Defense: 5th

Rushing: 6th                                                               Rush Defense: 30th (141.3 YPG)

Offensive Line: 13th                                                                    Pass Rush Rank: 7th

Final Thoughts

  • Ravens Nose Tackle Brandon Williams will be back this week after missing the last two games due to injury. This is a massive addition to a defense that is in need of some help in run defense, badly. Like Marc has already mentioned, it will be interesting to see how he plays against Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon who’s looking to put together his third solid game in a row.
  • Ravens QB Joe Flacco is struggling to get going. There’s no question about it. He currently has the 2nd lowest QB Rating in the league on 1st down throws. Only Dolphins QB Jay Cutler is currently worse. Flacco is also the WORST QB in the league on play action passes through the first 6 weeks of the season. Facing a top 5 Vikings defense on the road isn’t exactly an ideal situation for a QB that’s struggling the way Flacco is right now.
  • Great defense will eventually translate into good offense. If the Vikings defense can force three and outs and keep drives on the shorter side for the Ravens offense, that will wear Baltimore’s defense down and they will grow tired. We saw this scenario multiple times last season with the Vikings offense. They couldn’t stay on the field and give the defense a good rest on the sideline which led to points for the opposing teams.
  • Former Vikings WR Mike Wallace is making his return to Minnesota this weekend. Although, he’s been listed on the team’s injury report.
  • Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph needs 29 receiving yards to pass Ted Brown for 16th most in franchise history.
  • Kyle Rudolph also needs just 7 receptions to pass Rickey Young for 10th most in franchise history.
  • Everson Griffen looking for his 7th consecutive game with a sack this Sunday.

My Vikings prediction: Vikings defense: 3 turnovers.

My Ravens prediction: Joe Flacco: 0 Touchdowns, 2 Interceptions, and less than 150 yards passing.

My score prediction: Vikings-23 Ravens-13

For all the latest Vikings news, stats, and breakdowns follow me on Twitter at @Purple_Post. #SKOL

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